Public Education Reform

Educators tell us the PARCC exam is developmentally inappropriate. When New York State piloted the PARCC exam, over seventy percent of students failed. Not to be all braggy, but I've got a PhD from UChicago, and found the 7th grade practice exam to be tedious and confusing.

As someone who works in the field of education, I witness daily the impact of the Common Core on children. Many students are indeed struggling to adapt to the standards and there are inherent flaws to them.

Today, I'm trying something new. I've gotten myself onto the PARCC sample item site and am going to look at the ELA sample items for high school. There appear to be 23 sample pages, and I have two hours to do this, so this could take a while. You've been warned.

It's important to remember that getting money in the budget isn't nearly enough to realize the promise of early education. How early learning programs are designed and carried out is as important as whether they're done at all.

Malcolm X faced the kind of racial determinism that many students of color have become accustomed to today. Proponents of high stakes testing resurrect such determinism, presumably without the racial overtones, by reducing students, their hopes and dreams for the future, to test scores.

Instead of focusing on the high performing, front-row kids and neglecting the lost, skid-row kids in the back of the room, teachers can turn their classrooms into fertile ground that nurtures all students.

When teachers embrace students as individuals and recognize their personal strengths and needs, young people in poverty can develop the kind of confidence needed to propel them beyond their circumstances.

Teachers, parents, and administrators are raising their voices louder, and in solidarity, as unrealistic demands for students are being handed down from education policy makers and corporate reformers.

Their means may not be military, but across this great land, insurgent extremists are at work attacking public institutions and undermining the citizenry's confidence in the same. Our public schools are on the front lines.

A common public misperception is that tenure perpetuates mediocrity by permitting lifetime appointments for lackluster professors. In practice, the reverse is true: Tenure contributes to hiring the best and brightest.

Exposés about corruption, self-interest and corporate and philanthropic influence on public education policy are not enough. Pointing out the absence of evidence to support current policies is not enough. We need to reclaim the initiative as advocates for alternate strategies for improvement.

Ever since Beowulf, poetry has been critical to the development of the English language. We are now seeing a form of literary expression disappear without any discussion of whether it has a role to play in modern education.

A child's life often hinges on the level and depth of education he/she receives. We must clear out the noise and bring advocates from both sides into the same room. We cannot continue to ignore the plight of our children, and we cannot continue to attack one another.

I am disgusted with the way children are talked about in this context. Our language defiles the beautiful children in our collective care and demeans millions of parents who struggle every day to do their best in an increasingly hostile environment.